U.S. stocks end higher on hopes of averting cliff

KateGibson

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - U.S. stocks finished higher on Monday, lifting the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 index to their highest perches since Election Day, as Wall Street held out hope for a deal to avert the fiscal cliff. "Our investors are prepared for higher tax rates for 2013 and beyond," said Ron Florance, managing director at Wells Fargo, of President Barack Obama's proposal to increase taxes on the wealthiest 2%. If adopted, the president proposals are not "catastrophic," said Florance. "It's annoying, but these are not levels that are economically dangerous," he added. Extending gains into a fourth session, the Dow industrials
DJIA, -0.32%
climbed 14.75 points, or 0.1%, to 13,169.88. Also up for a fourth session, the S&P 500
SPX, -0.23%
added half a point to 1,418.55. The Nasdaq Composite
COMP, -0.01%
climbed 8.92 points, or 0.3%, to 2,986.96.

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